Speedoc to offer Singapore's first ambulance-booking app

SPEEDOC has partnered with ambulance operator Comfort Ambulance & Services Pte Ltd to integrate private ambulance hailing into its on-demand doctor app, the startup said on Wednesday.

It said the updated Speedoc app is the first ambulance-booking app in Singapore.

The app's users can call on Comfort Ambulance's fleet of 25 ambulances for transport to healthcare institutions in Singapore including hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices.

Charges for booking an ambulance will differ based on timing, location and day. Any additional charges such as the use of oxygen therapy and the use of stretchers will be listed clearly to users, Speedoc said.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) had announced that from April 1 onwards, it will no longer dispatch ambulances to cover non-emergency cases so that it can better focus on the serious and life-threatening cases.

Users who need a private ambulance can now either contact over 20 operators individually or call the 1777 hotline but sometimes face long waiting times, said Speedoc.

Situations such as pneumonia and serious skin infections are not life threatening but patients suffering from these conditions may need to be sent to a hospital as soon as possible for treatment while other bedridden patients may require a stretcher to transport them.

After having partnered with Comfort Ambulance, which is owned by Fullerton Healthcare Group, Speedoc is currently working with other ambulance operators to get more of them on board the app.

"Eventually we want to gain the economies of scale and bring down the cost of private ambulance booking for Singaporeans," said Dr Shravan Verma, chief executive officer of Speedoc.